Nigeria's Education Heroes: Pioneers, Prizewinners and Unsung Teachers

World Teachers' Day series: Nigeria's Education Heroes
Happy Teachers' Day from all of us at Nkuzify.

The pioneers

• Alvan Ikoku (1900-1971): trained as a teacher and founded Aggrey Memorial College in 1931. He pushed for a uniform education system and free primary education, became president of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in 1955, and appears on the ten naira note.
• Kenneth Dike: historian and the first Nigerian Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. He is also remembered as a founder of the Ibadan School of History and the first director of the Nigerian National Archives.
• Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti: a teacher who became one of Nigeria's best-known campaigners for women's rights. She led the women of Abeokuta in a campaign against unfair taxes on market women.
• Tai Solarin: founded Mayflower School in Ikenne and was known for his strong views on education. The school opened in 1956.

Today's award-winning teachers

• Adeola Olufunke Akinsulure: Biology teacher at Omole Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, and a top 10 finalist for the 2026 Global Teacher Prize. She has trained over 30,000 teachers.
• Kayode Adewale: Mathematics teacher at Imagbon/Imaka Comprehensive High School, Ogun State, and a top 50 finalist for the 2025 Global Teacher Prize.
• Olasunkanmi Opeifa: English teacher at Government Day Secondary School, Karu, Abuja. Top 10 finalist for the 2020 Global Teacher Prize and winner of the 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year award.
• Olalekan Adeeko: the first Nigerian to win the African Union Continental Teacher Prize (2020), and a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in Africa in 2024.

Unsung heroes

These are teachers who rarely make the news.

Do you know an unsung teacher? Tell us, and we will celebrate them.

Make a Thank You card for your own teacher